Document Type
Article
Abstract
Background: Rhodospirillum centenum is a photosynthetic non-sulfur purple bacterium that favors growth in an anoxygenic, photosynthetic N2-fixing environment. It is emerging as a genetically amenable model organism for molecular genetic analysis of cyst formation, photosynthesis, phototaxis, and cellular development. Here, we present an analysis of the genome of this bacterium. Results: R. centenum contains a singular circular chromosome of 4,355,548 base pairs in size harboring 4,105 genes. It has an intact Calvin cycle with two forms of Rubisco, as well as a gene encoding phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) for mixotrophic CO2 fixation. This dual carbon-fixation system may be required for regulating internal carbon flux to facilitate bacterial nitrogen assimilation. Enzymatic reactions associated with arsenate and mercuric detoxification are rare or unique compared to other purple bacteria. Among numerous newly identified signal transduction proteins, of particular interest is a putative bacteriophytochrome that is phylogenetically distinct from a previously characterized R. centenum phytochrome, Ppr. Genes encoding proteins involved in chemotaxis as well as a sophisticated dual flagellar system have also been mapped. Conclusions: Remarkable metabolic versatility and a superior capability for photoautotrophic carbon assimilation is evident in R. centenum.
Publication Date
1-1-2010
Recommended Citation
Lu Y.K., Marden J., Han M., Swingley W.D., Mastrian S.D., Chowdhury S.R., Hao J., Helmy T., Kim S., Kurdoglu A.A., Matthies H.J., Rollo D., Stothard P., Blankenship R.E., Bauer C.E., Touchman J.W. (2010) Metabolic flexibility revealed in the genome of the cyst-forming alpha-1 proteobacterium Rhodospirillum centenum. BMC Genomics. 11, 325.
Original Citation
Lu Y.K., Marden J., Han M., Swingley W.D., Mastrian S.D., Chowdhury S.R., Hao J., Helmy T., Kim S., Kurdoglu A.A., Matthies H.J., Rollo D., Stothard P., Blankenship R.E., Bauer C.E., Touchman J.W. (2010) Metabolic flexibility revealed in the genome of the cyst-forming alpha-1 proteobacterium Rhodospirillum centenum. BMC Genomics. 11, 325.
Department
Department of Biological Sciences
Legacy Department
Department of Biological Sciences
Sponsorship
This work was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation Phototrophic Prokaryotes Sequencing Project, grant number 0412824, by a Grantin- Aid for Creative Scientific Research (No. 17GS0314) from the Japanese Society for Promotion of Science, and a Indiana University MetaCyt grant. W.D.S. is funded by the Japanese Society for Promotion of Science Postdoctoral Fellowship for Foreign Researchers (No. P07141).
ISSN
1471-2164
Language
eng
Publisher
BioMed Central
